


Assemble!

by The_Winter_Straw



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Romance, collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 7,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Straw/pseuds/The_Winter_Straw
Summary: Sure, being a superhero was a full-time gig.That didn't mean you couldn't have any fun with them.





	1. First Impressions [Bruce Banner]

**Author's Note:**

> Psst. You guys want to see something really embarrassing? How about this drabble collection I wrote in under a month back in 2012? I'm not even sure I'd seen any of the movies leading up to the Avengers by the time I finished. Hoo boy, some of these are a doozy. The shame I endure, going through and getting these edited before I repost them. Anyway, I came up with all the prompts for this one myself, then moved on to a challenge and completely lost the ability to write anything under 1000 words. 
> 
> Not sure how you all do collections like this here on the AO3, so let me know if I did something wrong so that I can take steps to correct it! :)

Okay. Deep breaths. There they came: Tony Stark and the one newly enlisted “super human” you’d been dying to meet since you’d been given clearance to access his files. No screwing up. You didn’t care how socially awkward and shy you normally were–you were going to make a good first impression. Now, as they passed your desk on their way to the elevator and the science lab. 

“Doctor Banner?” Thankfully, your years with SHIELD had instilled you with enough confidence to at least raise your voice. The man stopped right next to your desk, eyebrows furrowed. Without waiting for further response, you thrust your hand out toward him. “I’m [First Name] [Last Name].” 

Doctor Banner took your hand, but still looked confused. Behind him, Tony stifled his chuckle with a coughing fit. You remembered protocol at once and felt your cheeks begin to burn. 

“I mean, Agent [Name]–I mean–” 

“Yes,” Doctor Banner said as he released your hand and shoved his own into his pocket. “Nice to meet you.” 

Ignoring Tony’s continued amusement at your expense, you continued: “I am such a huge, huge fan of your work.” 

Awkward silence followed those words. Even Tony stopped grinning and Doctor Banner’s expression of bemusement became a little strained. The seconds ticked away while you waited for him to respond, then at last it dawned on you: 

“I mean–your scientific work! Not your–Not the whole…not that other thing…” 

But it was too late. Doctor Banner took a deep breath and turned to finish walking to the elevator. “Thanks, but I had better get going.” 

“Oh, but–” Tony cut you off by stepping into your path. 

“Sorry–Agent [Last Name], was it?” You paused, but nodded, noting he still looked more amused than anything. Some small comfort _that_ was. “But we really should go. Fate of the world and all that. No big deal.” 

“R-Right. Bye,” you stammered. He nodded once, clapped you on your shoulder, and walked past. Doctor Banner remained, still looking perturbed. 

Doctor Banner remained, still perturbed. You thought he might have at least bid you farewell, but no such luck. He followed Tony without another look in your direction. You sunk back into your chair at the same rate your heart sunk into your stomach. 

As far as first impressions went, that one had completely _sucked_. 


	2. Dead End [Bruce Banner]

Loki was fond of theatrics. It didn’t take a super genius to figure _that_ out. For one thing, upon your capture, he had situated you in a makeshift cell that allowed you to see _everything_ going on in his base–including all the smirks he sent your direction. For another, well, his visits were certainly something. 

“Ah, [Name]!” You looked up as the man in question dropped in for visit-of-the-day number three. “I see you’ve been observing our construction. What do you think of it?” 

“All I’m thinking is that your helmet _still_ looks really dumb.” 

Loki paused. You thought, for one split second, that you had pushed him too far. He instead broke into a wide grin. “I’m glad to see that Barton wasn’t lying about your sense of humor. It leads me to believe he wasn’t lying about your connections.” 

Agent Barton? What information could he have on you to give to this madman? Rather than giving away your nerves, you eyed Loki with distaste. “Stop with the affable behavior. What are you doing?” 

His smile slowly faded; his expression changed to that of haughty consideration. “I’m trying,” he answered mildly, “to decide what to do with you.” 

“Why don’t you just use your magic hypno-stick on me? Or kill me? I’m not of any use to you locked up in a transparent cell all day.” 

“You’re a special case, [Name]. One that could help me along quite a bit with my plan, if I choose correctly, as I _will._ ” 

“What are you on about? Get an extra shot of crazy from your tesseract today?” 

That time, Loki didn’t laugh. “Is it true that you used be rather close to Doctor Banner?” 

Bruce? _That_ was what all of that was about? A bead of sweat trailed from your temple down the side of your neck. You had to hope Loki hadn’t noticed. All that work, trying to help SHIELD wipe him off the books, gone. 

“It depends on what you mean by ‘rather close,’” you said carefully. “If 'brief associates', then yes. I’m afraid I can’t help you track him down, though. I haven’t heard from him since the incident in Harlem.” 

“Do not try to lie to the god of lies, [Name]. I believe you both to have been closer than _that_. Surprising, considering what a monster–” 

“Bruce is not a monster!” 

That was the wrong thing to say. Loki’s grin widened even further. “Excellent. Now all that’s left is to decide whether killing you or coercing you to help me will push the monster faster over the edge.” 

“Try it.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Try it. It won’t do you any good. Bruce and I parted ways when I had the audacity to join SHIELD. He hates me." 

“Fortunately,” Loki said as he held his staff to your sternum, “I lose nothing doing either.”


	3. Outside [Steve Rogers]

It killed you to see him like that: sitting on his bed, staring out the window at a city he didn’t understand. He’d been like that ever since you’d been assigned to him–something about culture shock. You didn’t doubt it. The poor guy had missed seventy years of his life. But how _you_ were supposed to help when you had no further training than the average SHIELD medical attendant, you had no idea. 

“Do you maybe want go outside and get a closer look?” you asked from the door. Steve turned to look at you, shrugged, and turned back around. 

“I don’t belong there.” 

His lack of attention to you forced you around the bed. When he continued to stare almost stonily out toward the flashing lights of New York City, you moved his tray of uneaten dinner and perched next to him. 

“You never will if you never try.” 

At last, Steve looked at you. He looked angry, but you knew by then that he was angrier with his circumstances than he was with anyone with SHIELD. Still, he didn’t say anything. His light blue eyes simply fixed on yours. The familiar squeeze your heart gave whenever he did that caused you turn away. If you didn’t get a handle on the situation, SHIELD would transfer you for sure. 

“Look, it’s just not…healthy for you to stay in here all the time. Don’t you _want_ to go out and explore?” 

“Believe me, Miss [Last Name], if there was something I thought would help, I would already be doing it.” 

You pursed your lips. Steve let out a sigh and went back to his window. The continuous honking from the traffic below floated through it. That was when you made your decision. You stood and then glared imperiously down at the man. 

“Up.” 

“Excuse me?” The look he threw you was one of complete bewilderment. Well, why wouldn’t it be? Since your introduction three months before, you’d hardly done anything but gently prod him toward leaving his room. 

“Get up,” you said. “Right now.” 

Steve did as he was told, though he still looked confused. You crossed your arms. 

“Now close your eyes.” 

“But–” 

“Do it.” He did. You reached out and grabbed his hand. "Now follow me.” You tugged on his arm once and he gracefully followed, eyes still shut. 

“Where are we going?” he asked as you led him down a flight of stairs. 

“You’ll see!” You reached the end of the stairs, threw the door there open, and pulled him into the room behind you. You were grinning before he had the chance to ask: 

“Can I open my eyes now, ma’am?” 

“Yes.” So he did–and the look of incredulity on his face made everything completely worth it. You continued to grin as he took in the boxing ring, the mats, the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling. “It’s not exactly the outside world, but it’ll help.” 

“What is it?” 

“It’s…a little piece of home, I guess. I asked Director Fury about making it about a month ago. It would have been done sooner, but there was something up in New Mexico.” 

Steve didn’t look at you. Instead, he strode toward a bench and picked up a box of wraps one of the workers had left there for him. You held your breath. Did he like it? Would it just make him sad? You had your answer soon enough. That time, for the first time _ever_ , he turned toward you with a smile. 

“Thank you.”


	4. Crushed [Natasha Romanoff]

She was okay. She was okay; she was okay; she was okay. The mantra circled through your head as you rushed through the silver hallways of SHIELD base #43. She was okay. Natasha was okay. Of course, you should have _known_ that, but since you’d been off the grid since before Loki’s attack, you had no way of knowing if– 

No, you still should have known Natasha would survive. She was everything you wanted to be: Smart. Tough. Beautiful. Capable of dealing with alien invasions and everything else that came with them. 

Which meant your ignoring her was completely out of line. You were friends, right? Which was why you were hurrying down the corridors, pushing people out of the way, and generally making a mess of things in your haste to see Natasha again. When at last you made it to her door, you knocked, then tried the knob. You found it unlocked and threw the door inward as you stepped inside. 

“Natasha! I heard about–” Your squeal died in your throat as you spotted the two figures standing in the dark, heads moving silently as they kissed deeply. Hearing you, they stopped and–your heart sinking like a stone in your chest–you saw that one of them was the woman you’d come there looking for. 

“Oh. [Name].” Natasha looked up. She didn’t look abashed at all to be caught with Clint’s tongue down her throat. But then, that was Natasha. She was never abashed about anything. 

“[Name]?” Clint asked as he turned around. Upon catching sight of you, he grinned. “Oh, [Name]. Hey. Like what you see?” 

The answer was no. And yes. You liked Natasha. You even liked Clint. What you didn’t like was seeing the two of them kissing. Hadn’t Natasha always insisted that love was for children? Wasn’t that why you’d never told her how you really felt? Wasn’t that why you’d decided to content yourself knowing she was cool enough to let you be friends with her when she very rarely got close to anyone? 

But what could you say, other than: 

“I’ll just leave now”? 

And you did, with a nervous laugh and a broken heart.


	5. Female Gaze [Thor Odinson]

You weren't exactly thrilled when the Avengers Initiative first became active. As resident repair girl for SHIELD (well, one of many), it was a lot of hassle always going back and forth to fix what those so called “superheroes” broke. Was Tony Stark a computer genius? Yes. Did he ever bother to fix them for you? No. 

But then you met Thor Odinson. Or at least you _saw_ him. From afar. Multiple times. Every day, in fact, during your lunch break, when you made sure to position yourself right where you could spy on him through the meeting room glass. That day was no different. 

“Agent [Last Name], can you please report to the hangar bay? We’ve got a broken system down there and it needs fixed right now.” 

_Damn_. Those biceps could _not_ be real. They were just too good. Oh, wait. Someone was interrupting your lunch. You didn’t even look at them to respond. 

“What?” 

“The hangar bay? Computers? Doing what we paid you to do?” The voice was getting closer. You bit off another chunk of sandwich and waved them away. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get to it.” 

“Agent [Last Name]!” Director Fury barked in your ear. You jumped about half a foot into the air as you spun in your chair to look at him. The man did not look pleased. His one good eye moved from your face, to Thor’s arms, and back again. He lifted a single hand and drew it down his face. 

“When is everybody around here going to realize we are a _government agency_ and not a _dating service_?” 

You shrugged and popped the rest of your sandwich in your mouth. “Probably when guys like _that_ stop wandering around.” 

Director Fury could only roll his eyes and try to find someone else to fix his dumb computer. 

Which was good for you, since Steve Rogers had just entered the room.


	6. Out of Place [Thor Odinson]

When Thor had spoken to you of his home realm, he had spoken of tall, golden towers; of massive aquamarine skies; of enormous, twisting clouds; and buildings with domed roofs that seemed to stretch far past your vision. Once you were _on_ Asgard, you could say sincerely that it was everything he had claimed–and probably a little bit more.

You stood back to admire the scenery and the twirling bridge of light that had brought you there as Thor, surrounded by innumerable compatriots, received his due praise. The planet was beautiful. _He_ was beautiful.

And _you_ shouldn’t have been there.

The crowd dispersed at last, leaving you and Thor alone outside. He grinned at you and threw out his arms as he strode in your direction.

“Is it not magnificent?” he asked. “Everything I said it would be?”

You laughed, but only to hide the tears you felt gathering on the edges of your eyelids. “It is.” Your strained chuckle did not convince Thor. By then, he was already close enough to see that you were on the verge of crying. He placed both his hands on your shoulders.

“Jane?” he asked.

You bit your lip, nodded, and looked away. When you spoke again, your voice was ragged. “ _She_ would appreciate this more. She’d have known what was going on, anyway.”

“But I brought _you_ here.” Thor took your chin and pushed it gently upward. “Not her.”

“I know, but–”

Thor did not allow you to finish your protest. He cut it off swiftly with a deep kiss–deep, but short. When he released you, he continued to hold your chin up. “Now, you must promise me. No more tears?”

You sniffled, but smiled back at him.

“No more tears.”


	7. Date Night [Steve Rogers]

Steve Rogers could think of no other time in his life when he had been as nervous as he was in that moment. Well, there had been the attack on Manhattan. And when he was facing off against Red Skull and the rest of the HYDRA units. _And_ when they’d strapped him into that machine before injecting the serum into him. But still. He hadn’t been scared when any of that was happening. Now? He was scared.

Because he’d missed his date with Peggy all those years ago. It wasn’t like he’d exactly been a Casanova before that, either. Once he’d got to the point where he’d asked [First Name] [Last Name] out and she’d agreed, he didn’t know quite where to go from there. Apart from sit in his living room, dressed as nicely as he could manage, waiting for her to ring the buzzer, that was.

Or _knock_ on the door, he thought, as he heard a smart rap from across the room. Steve got to his feet, and, already sweating, rushed to the door and pulled it open so hard that it ripped off its hinges. You stared back at him.

“Excited to see me?” you asked.

“Y-Yeah,” he stammered, then realized he still had the door in his hand. He hastily set it back where it came from and motioned for you to come inside. “You look…you look really nice.”

“Aw, you’re sweet." You stepped into his house. Steve gave you an anxious smile. He didn’t know what sort of fashion was “in” during that time period, but whatever you wearing, he liked it. After a minute or two of looking around his sparsely accessorized living space–mostly covered in knickknacks the rest of his friends had sent him–you turned back with a business-like snap. “Now. Where are we going?”

“U-Um…” Steve could honestly say he hadn’t planned that far ahead. What was there to do on dates now? Everything else had changed so much. “Where do you want to go?”

You shook your head, but smiled. “Uh-uh. Even in this time, Rogers, the guy picks the date. Now where do you want to go?”

He paused, his mind racing. Of course, what it had to land on was what he had missed nearly seventy years before. He hesitated, then looked at you through his eyelashes. “Dinner and dancing?”

You smiled again as you took his arm. “It’s a date.”


	8. Peace Offering [Clint Barton]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what? i'm not obsessed with this concept. no. why would you even imply something like that??

When did this become your life? The clanging sounds of metal, the buzz of electricity running through sleepless nights, the constant crank-crank-crank of the wrench in your hand. You weren’t supposed to be there. You were supposed to be in hiding. Supposed to be getting away from–

“You aren’t working up to speed, [Name].”

You stopped cranking to look up at your current "boss." Loki of Asgard smirked down at you, his hands behind his back. You scowled back, and picked up a rag to wipe the oil from your hands on. When you didn’t say anything, Loki continued:

“Perhaps I should give you some incentive. Since you aren’t really putting your heart into this.”

“You don’t have anything I want.” You picked your wrench up again and went back to work.

“What about Barton?”

Your wrench fell from your hand with a _clang_ that echoed through the cavern, though no one stopped to find the source of the noise. Mouth agape, you spun to look at Loki. He was grinning, clearly pleased with the reaction he had elicited. You gulped, but your voice remained calm as you said, “What?”

“Barton,” Loki answered as he stepped closer. “He told me all about your little crush and how he could never in his life return it.”

Red-faced, you ducked your head. You always figured Clint had known. But to tell _this_ creep? That wasn't like Clint at all. What was going on?

Loki interrupted your train of thought by touching your shoulder. He smiled, then said gently, “But I can change that. Barton is mine to control. I could change his mind as easily as–”

Before he could finish that sentence, you twisted out of his grip and grabbed his collar. Gritting your teeth, you stood on your toes so that Loki’s nose was nearly touching your own.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you sick, twisted–”

To your great surprise, Loki did not look the least bit perturbed. Instead, he smiled again. “If you’re going to get so angry, [Name], I could just go ahead and do it.”

You took a great, shuddering breath, then released him. Without so much as looking back at Loki–or Clint, who you knew was keeping an eye on things from some distant corner of the room–you picked up your wrench and got back to work…just a _little_ faster than before.


	9. Church [Steve Rogers]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm Christian and I go to church every single Sunday. I have no idea what possessed me to write this.

Normally Sunday mornings around the Avengers tower were, pardon your language, absolute _hell_. When you’d signed up to be Captain American's live-in girlfriend, you’d expected a variety of things. _None_ of those things were waking up to a screeching alarm clock at 6:00 in the morning, rolling out of bed, dressing up to the nines, and going to church for three-and-half hours, _especially_ while the rest of those yahoos got to sleep in. Yet it happened, again and again. Every. Single. Sunday. Without fail.

Except for _that_ day. _That_ day you had sprung into action as soon as the alarm went off. Steve wasn’t even able to sit up fully to hit the off button before you had rolled over on top of him to straddle his hips. Clearly surprised, he raised his eyebrows at you as the clock fell silent under _your_ hand instead.

“[Name]? What are you–”

You cut him off with a kiss. “No church today,” you said as you leaned away. 

That only caused Steve to look troubled. “But–”

“No buts!” You scowled and grabbed his chin with one hand. “Just for once, I want to spend Sunday morning having fun with you instead of listening to some old guy tell us not to covet our neighbor’s ass.”

“But–”

“Because, let’s face it: Our neighbors are probably coveting _yours_.”

You kept your hand where it was as you watched for Steve’s reaction. He only looked more confused than ever. “But it’s Sunday,” he said at last. 

You rolled your eyes and leaned in again. Your chest brushed against his as you kissed his ear. “God isn’t going to kick you out of the club if you skip one day.”

Steve stared at you. Did you have to spell it out for him? You were beginning to despair of him when he responded to your kissing down his jaw by flipping you both over so that he hovered above you. You blinked up at him, waiting for him to tell you to get up and get dressed.

Instead, he kissed you.

"Just _one_ day."


	10. Heights [Tony Stark]

“Come on.”

“No.”

“[Name]. Come on.”

“No,” you snapped, and stepped even further away from the edge of the building _and_ the suited-up man in front of you. Tony, his hand still outstretched toward you, simply huffed.

“You’re never getting down from here if you don’t take my hand.”

“No. I don’t want to. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.”

“I am _not_ going to let you fly me down. It’s an ninety-three story drop!” Even now, you were getting a little dizzy. The lights in the skyscrapers surrounding yours seemed to flicker in your vision. How, oh how, had Tony managed to convince you to crawl up here to do repair work? He knew you hated heights!

“Then how do you propose to get yourself down?” he asked.

“They’ll send a helicopter up here eventually.”

“No,” he said with a completely straight face. “They won’t.”

“And why not?” You actually stomped your foot at these words. Didn’t he know what this was doing to you? Hopefully the pizza you'd snagged for dinner wasn’t about to come back up. That was sexy and totally how you wanted your boyfriend to remember you after you inevitably fell to your death. 

“I’ll tell them not to.”

A whimper broke in the back of your throat. Tony took a tentative step toward you and tried again. “Come on. Just let me carry you.”

“No!”

“Then you leave me no choice.” The mask clanked down. You hardly had time to scream a protest before he picked you up in his arms and shot into the sky. Shrieking, you buried your face in your hands. “Stop screaming. You want to wake up half of New York?”

“Sh-Shut up! Just get us to the ground!”

“I already have.” You opened your eyes. Though Tony remained hovering a few inches above the ground, the cement was well within your grasp. He set you gently down on your feet, then hit the ground himself with a tiny _clank_. His mask flipped up again.

“Better?” he asked.

The smile you gave him was brief. _Then_ you slapped him across the face.


	11. Kung Fu [Tony Stark]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I like Pepper! I ship her and Tony, even! I didn't know anything about her outside of her brief cameo in the Avengers when I wrote this; I had no intention of being insulting.

“You were stupid, Stark. Very stupid.” the man’s hot breath hissed into your ear. You winced at the feeling and the smell. All the while, Tony stared at your assailant, eyebrows raised as he took in the knife pressing into the skin of your throat. 

Tony’s eyes narrowed. He looked at you. He looked at the man that had you in a chokehold. He placed his hands in his pockets and stepped forward, head cocked to one side.

“Stupid how, exactly?” Tony asked.

"You left your pretty little girlfriend unattended." The tone of the stranger's voice was aggravatingly gloating. That he wrenched your head upward as he spoke didn't help. He ignored your little gasp, and your scrabbling at his arm. "Now she's going to have to die."

Tony nodded with a frown. “Fair enough. And what if I said I didn’t care?”

“You–”

This was taking far too long. Before the man could finish his sentence, you snatched that same arm, wrenched it around, and flipped him over your head so that he landed with an earsplitting crash onto Tony’s coffee table. Tony stepped forward to smirk down at him.

“Yeah, about that. That’s why this time I got a girlfriend who can protect herself.”


	12. Addlepated [Loki Laufeyson]

SHIELD was onto you. The sirens filling the helicarrier made thiat obvious enough. Not that it mattered if they had found you out. You were still in SHIELD gear–and still loyal to that side of the coin. You’d only worked with the other team so they wouldn't think you needed a magic brainwashing scepter to the head. All you had to do now was get to where Loki was being held before Barton or one of the others got there.

“Ah, [Name],” the man said through the glass. “Excellent timing.”

You did not answer, but wandered over to the control panel stationed in front of the cell. Loki’s smile followed you all the way.

“Now, release me.”

“No.” You turned stonily toward him, intent on telling him just how disgusting you found him…at least until you saw his face. Beaming. Full of anticipation. Instead, you swallowed. “Why don’t you _make_ me?”

You knew he could. He’d done it to Barton, Selvic, and the others. Why he hadn’t turned you forcefully, too, you didn’t know. But Loki only chuckled at your question and shook his head.

“Oh, [Name]. Don’t kid yourself.” You looked uncertainly in his direction. “You’re _far_ too addlepated to even begin to question me. Now be a good girl and hit the button.”

“I…” Your heart hammered in your chest. You couldn’t release him. You _couldn’t_. That would mean he won.

“Release me, [Name],” Loki purred.

You hit the button.


	13. Left Behind [Bruce Banner]

You were distracted when he first showed up. Epidemics tended to cause that effect. What with the fever and coughing spreading throughout your village, you found yourself running around near constantly. You didn’t even notice Bruce had returned from his trip with the little girl until he appeared quite suddenly behind you.

“Listen,” he said without any introduction. “I’ve got to go.”

Mostly you figured he had to go back to the little girl’s house. Maybe her dad couldn’t make it all the way to Bruce’s little makeshift this hospital. You bent to grab some rags to clean as you absently asked, “Go where?”

“I…don’t know.” You looked up. Instantly, you could tell something was wrong. Bruce’s face held that familiar look of shiftiness and fear that you hadn’t seen since the last incident. The rags in your arms fell to the floor.

“Bruce, is everything all right?”

“It’s–” He looked away from you, rubbing his palms together. “No, but…Promise me you’ll stay here and look after them.”

“ _What_? Why can't I come with you?” You couldn’t help the hurt that crept into your voice. The two of you had been working together for nearly _two years_ and he wanted to part ways? You’d thought–well, it didn’t matter what you had thought. Clearly you had been wrong. 

Bruce didn’t answer. All he said was, “promise me.”

You hesitated. The silence that fell was permeated with ragged coughs, moans, and the occasional dry sob. Whatever was going on with Bruce, you couldn’t leave those people. Besides that, your promise seemed so important to him. You took a deep breath.

“I promise.”

He stared at you. Then, in one quick movement that you hardly registered, he took your face between his shaking hands and kissed you on the forehead. Just as fast, he released you. You gaped. In all the years you’d known Bruce, he had never even touched you. Before you could stammer out a response, he ducked his head and went for the door.

“Bye, [Name]. I'll try to be back soon."


	14. Squee [Phil Coulson]

In all your years with SHIELD, you had never seen Phil quite so excited. The whole organization was in code mauve and _he_ was positively giddy. You’d have been frustrated with his sudden change in attitude, except…well, it was kind of adorable.

“Did you see him?” Phil was saying to you for the seventeenth time. “I mean, not under the ice. Now. Walking around.”

“I saw him, Phil," you said as you watched him pace around the break room. "Kind of hard to miss the guy in the spangle-y outfit wandering around here.”

“Is it bad? You think it’s bad, don’t you?”

“No, it’s not a bad outfit. It suits him.” You had to press your hand over your mouth to keep from chuckling. Who knew Phil had the capacity to be such a fanboy? 

“I hope he likes it,” Phil said a tad wistfully. After a brief pause, he added, “do you think he’ll sign my trading cards?”

That time, you did laugh. “Only if you ask, Phil.”

Phil looked at you, nodded nervously, and held up a finger as he left the room. “Be right back.”


	15. Hush Money [Tony Stark]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is even WORSE. I'm so sorry. If it all makes up for this, I have several drabbles dedicated to Pepper in the next collection, so there's that to look forward to.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Stark?”

The words fell quietly onto the plush carpet beneath your feet. With the heavy doors closed behind you, the office felt more like a prison. You held a hand up above your eyes to shield them from the dazzling sunlight spilling from the windows.

“Ah, [Name].” Mr. Stark spun around in his chair to face the door, looked you slowly up and down, and gestured for the seat in front of his desk. “Please, take a seat.”

Your heart gave a peculiar, off-kilter squeeze at the words, but you did as asked. Tony–Mr. Stark–simply continued to stare at you. What did he want? Why had he called you out of work? You had calculations to finish, computers to program, projects to work out. Finally, you could take the silence no longer.

“Mr. Stark–”

“How much?”

You waited for him to explain himself, but Mr. Stark did not. “How much for what?”

“How much do I need to pay you to not tell Pepper about last night?”

That time, your heart fell dead in your chest as all the blood rushed to your cheeks. “Wh-What?” you managed to stammer. Not that you didn’t know what he was talking about, but you didn’t think remembering the previous night of getting drunk and the resulting fling you’d had with your boss was going to help anything. All the while, Mr. Stark watched you.

“Look. I made a mistake.”

The silent office. The slight lingering effects of your hangover. The offer to pay you to keep quiet. It was all too much. Hot tears sprung to your eyes. You stood quickly to distract him from noticing. “I’m…I’m a _mistake_?”

“No, no, no!” Mr. Stark got to his feet and rushed around his desk. You hardly noticed as you hung your head and tried not to cry–at least until his arms wrapped you in a hug. “[Name]. I like you. But I can’t do that to Pepper.”

"Do what?” you asked in a tight voice.

“I care about her. Last night…I shouldn’t have…”

Before he could finish, you pushed him roughly away and began to wipe angrily at your eyes.

“[Name]–”

“No,” you said fiercely and marched to the door. Just as you wrenched them open, you turned back to Mr. Stark with a snarl. “ _I_ don’t kiss and tell.”

Then you stormed out, slamming the door behind you.


	16. Band of Brothers [Thor Odinson]

Thor was in a bit of a bind. Thankfully, this one wasn’t Loki-related, but Thor couldn't help still worrying. It wasn’t every day he took his girlfriend to his home realm and then managed to lose her.

“[Name],” he shouted as he rushed into the dining hall. No answer.

“[Name],” he called again as he ran into the throne room. It was empty.

“[Name],” he bellowed into the Bifrost chamber. “Answer me!”

But still there was no reply. Had you gone home? But surely Heimdall would have told him. Beginning to feel a slight sting of panic, Thor turned and started back to the palace. Perhaps his mother had cornered you so that she could show you the portraits of him and Loki as children.

“Looking for something?”

Thor spun around to see Sif leaning casually against a golden pillar. Her eyes were narrowed, but there was a smirk upon her lips. He stepped forward eagerly.

“[Name]! Have you found her?”

“Follow me,” Sif answered and turned to walk away. 

He quickly fell into step beside her. “Is [Name] all right?”

“She’s fine.” For some reason, Sif sounded amused. The reason did not soon become apparent, for she led Thor straight to one of the large, open sparring areas on Asgard. But still Thor could not see his girlfriend.

“[Name],” he called. Instead of a familiar figure appearing, Thor spotted Fandral waving at him from the center of the ring.

“Thor! Help!” Fandral shouted.

“Help?” Thor frowned. “But why?”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” _That_ was [Name]. Somehow having worked your way onto the ceiling, you plummeted onto the hapless Fandral’s shoulders and latched your arms loosely about his neck. He immediately began to thrash about, attempting to throw you off of him. Thor watched in confusion for nearly five seconds, then burst out laughing.

“It looks like you’ve found another warrior, Thor,” Sif said as she joined in watching.

“Yes,” Thor answered, “I have.”


	17. Visit [Phil Coulson]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: This was written well before "Agents of SHIELD" gave Phil's cellist an actual character. I stopped watching that show early on in season four (or was it five?), so almost nothing I write involves that canon anyway.

Being in an orchestra was hard work. Most people wouldn’t know that and probably wouldn’t believe you if you said so. After many rehearsals that lasted late into the night, with required perfect posture and constant movement, you were exhausted. All you wanted to do when you stumbled into your house was jam a Pop-tart down your throat and go to bed.

Which was why you were so surprised to find a gentleman sitting in your living room when you got home around eleven one night. He was tall and wearing an eye patch. You might have been scared, except that he was watching television and had already turned on several of your lamps. It sort of reminded you of how Phil would announce his visits every so often, when his work allowed him to make one. 

“Hello?” you called as you hung your coat in the closet and watched the stranger from the corner of your eye. He lifted your remote and switched the television off, waiting calmly for you to enter the room.

“Hello. You’re [F Name] [L Name], correct?” the man asked in a deep voice. 

You nodded and wandered over to sit in one the chairs next to the couch he was sitting on. “That’s me. And you are?”

“I’m Nicholas Fury. Have you heard of me?”

You shook your head and started to slip off your boots. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind, but it _was_ your house, not his. 

“Phil was a good man. We’ve had agents in less dedicated relationships that spilled more.”

“You knew Phil?” you asked, and then the use of past tense registered. Your heart sped a little and jumped into your throat. “Phil _was_ a good man?”

Mr. Fury bowed his head, but continued to meet your eyes. “I was Phil’s boss. He died on the job three days ago.”

Slowly, tremblingly, your hand covered your mouth. “Phil is dead?” you whispered.

“He was my best man. I’m sorry to have lost him. The rest of the world should be, too.”

“How? How did he die?” You dropped your hand and dug your fingers into your knees.

“I’m afraid that’s classified information.”

“But–”

“I’m sorry. The most I could do was come tell you in person. If Phil trusted you as much as I think he did, he’ll have trusted you to accept me at my word.”

You swallowed thickly and lifted your eyes to Mr. Fury’s face. His expression was hard to read, especially around the eye patch, but you thought you could see sympathy there. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

The couch creaked slightly as Mr. Fury stood up. Thinking he had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, you ducked your head again and began to cry. The sobs were quiet, but not quiet enough. Before Mr. Fury left, you felt him pat you gently on the shoulder.

“You’re a good woman, Miss [L Name],” he murmured as he moved past you toward the door. “Phil would be proud of you.”


	18. Cool Down [Bruce Banner]

“Bruce?” you asked in a quavering voice of the green behemoth standing in front of you. Not five minutes before, Bruce had been standing in the giant’s place. You knew what the Hulk was, of course, and you’d been trained to expect that he might one day appear, but with his heaving shoulders and the intense look of hatred cracking across his face, it was hard to believe that the Hulk was Bruce at all.

“Bruce?” you said again and that time his head whipped toward you. When the green eyes narrowed, you gulped. “I…” You swallowed and took a step toward him. “You need to stop now, all right?”

The Hulk let out a growl, low, but deep enough that the ground beneath your feet shook so hard you stumbled into him. You winced, expecting to be crushed, but instead, his arm caught you. A gasp slipped from your lips and your head snapped upward to look into his face. The anger there had dissipated a little, allowing you to take a deep breath and continue as you righted yourself.

“I–I know he made you mad, but you don’t have to destroy him. Or the building. Okay?”

The Hulk’s lips peeled back to show his straight white teeth. Clearly, reasoning wasn’t the way to go. At least he still hadn’t attempted to smash you. But you could feel tears running down your cheeks because if he didn’t stop–if something happened–if he got caught–

They’d be after him. He’d have to leave.

And he wouldn’t take you with him.

Without thinking, you stepped into his arms again and hugged him with your cheek pressed into his chest.

“Please?” you whispered, and closed your eyes tight. “Don’t make it so you have to leave.”

For several long minutes nothing happened. Slowly, however, you felt the body in your arms shrink. Soon your arms were able to go completely around him. You opened your eyes to see Bruce’s own, flickering between the cowering man before him and yourself.

“Bruce–” you began, elation coloring your tone, even if he was completely naked and you had your arms around him.

“Come on, [Name],” Bruce said, turning you so the he could wrap one arm around your shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

And without another look at the man that had made him so angry, that’s exactly what you did.


	19. Jumped at the Call [Thor Odinson]

“Thor!”

The man standing on the broken bridge looked up at your call. Thank goodness you’d caught him. Thank goodness you’d been able to find him before he left. You rushed toward Thor as he answered:

“[Name]?”

“I had to come say goodbye,” you explained as you neared him. Thor nodded and took your hand. “Where are you going?”

“Loki has been spotted on Earth, and he seems to be making quite a bit of trouble.”

“That _is_ Loki’s area of expertise. But why…?”

You left the question unasked, but you knew Thor understood what you were saying. Why did _he_ have to go after his little brother? Why, when you only just had him returned to you after his exile?

“The Earth is under my protection. I cannot allow Loki to do as he wills with the people upon it,” he said.

“But…” you said again. Thor embraced you and pressed his forehead to your own.

“He is my responsibility, [Name]. It was my arrogance that caused his desire to inflict so much pain upon an innocent people.”

You fell silent, looking up into Thor’s blue eyes. It didn’t seem fair that he was always having to rush off to save someone, but if he hadn’t been that way, perhaps you wouldn’t have fallen in love with him in the first place. You answered by kissing him quickly on the lips.

“Stay safe,” you said as you stepped away from him. Thor nodded and took a step toward the edge. “And come back soon.”

“I will.”

The last you saw of him: A grin and a wave.

Then he disappeared.


	20. Thank You [Steve Rogers]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for joining me for this semi-embarrassing journey through my past. I hope that one or two of these was able to entertain enough that you will join me for my next collection. I'll be trying to get the first few drabbles for "Happily Ever After" up soon!

Steve remained unused to being the object of so much feminine attraction in his new time period. Before the super soldier experiment, no one would give him a second look. Afterward, he only had eyes for Peggy. Peggy was elderly now (he was still working up the nerve to go visit her), and even knowing their relationship was entirely over, he’d still tried to avoid romantic interaction since his awakening.

At least until Tony pushed a blushing, stammering woman into his apartment one afternoon a few weeks after the attack on New York. Steve had only to put down his newspaper and look at Tony’s grinning face to know that something was up.

“Hello,” he said to the woman.

“H-Hello,” you said, looking quickly at his face and away again. “Um, you’re…you’re Captain Rogers, right? Cap-Captain America?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Steve sent a quizzical look at Tony, only to have the man raise his eyebrows and grin more widely still.

“Okay,” you said, your voice still quivering. “I–I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

Your knuckles turned white as your blush spilled more fully into your face. “For saving my life. I–I wouldn’t have made it to safety if you hadn’t stopped that alien.”

“Oh,” Steve said. “You’re welcome.”

An uncomfortable silence fell, though Tony continued to look highly amused. Steve could feel his temper flaring at the obvious fun Tony was having at your expense. Finally, he had to ask:

“What’s so funny, Stark?”

“She _said_ she wants to _thank_ you,” Tony offered. 

Steve glared at him. “I knew that, actually. Why is that funny?”

“Maybe,” Tony said as he nudged you gently forward. “You should ask her on a date to show your appreciation for her coming all the way just to say that.”

Steve was about to say a polite no, thank you, but something made him stop. He didn’t know what it was–maybe the way your face had turned quite as red as Tony’s suit even though you were looking determinedly away from both of them. Whatever it was, it made him smile and get to his feet.

“You know what? That’s a great idea.”


End file.
